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Yes, I'm quite big on Italian food -- but NOT the red sauce Italian-American stuff. Think more like Mario Batali, and since my best friend owns three restaurants with him I've eaten in almost all of his restaurants, as well as Lidia Bastianich (her son is Mario's business partner).

I love French food, and I went to France the first time when I was just 14 so it's been a long affair. However, I'd say French food hasn't been "in" for US diners (well, with the exception of overly dear 4-star places). Though there was that brief bistro phase in NYC -- and damn if I wasn't at Balthazar all of the time, and Pastis. I love Keith McNally restaurants, just for the over-the-top see-and-be-seen crowd. I went to Minetta Tavern when it opened two years ago and it was great - it completely exemplifies a NYC steak house from 100 years ago, and the food was completely up to par.

Now, if you want really fierce food you need to try the Asian-Southern US fusion that Chef David Chang does -- he's been the bomb in NYC for the past seven years, starting with Momofuku Noodle in the East Village. He's gone on to open up much pricier places, and I'm dying to try out mŠ pÍche, his first uptown place. Next NYC visit perhaps.

I love Sichuan and have been going religiously to this place in Old City Philadelphia where all of the mainland Chinese grad students from the Wharton School of Business/U-Penn go when they're homesick. Twice a month they do this massive 20-course meal and it takes 2 months to obtain a reservation, and I just scored one for November! I'm very happy about that.

Oh, and I'm very, very huge on coffee -- not just any kind (Jan will be my witness). I only buy light roast beans, which I grind with my Baratza burr grinder, then brew in a Chemex glass pot by hand. I also am fortunate to live only a few blocks from the best pastry shop in the city, run by a Vietnamese family.

Ah yes, and my best friend I mentioned one of her restaurants is all Spanish, and when it opened it won "best Spanish wine list" by Wine Spectator. All the food there is incredible, and one of the few US places where you can get jamon iberico. Any New Yorkers reading this you really must try it out: http://www.casamononyc.com/

Aren't all cultures capable of delicious food when attention is paid to taste?

Conversely I've had vile dishes from around the world.

On the Thai remark, there are those who get with soap tastes and those who don't, I think its genetic? I could live on coriander/cilantro.

Indian, Vietnamese, Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, look at these

Most tripe preparations make me want to vomit but I'll occassionally choke it down to fake that I have a "sophisticated" palette. Ditto for some revolting Chinese soups no human should go near. Never had a truly savory paella even though my dining companions have assured me one or the other we were served was fantastic, they always make me gag. Most gefilte fish. Bad cheap eye-talian restaurants (tasteless cheese, salty, bland). Bad restaurant pastries or pies. Anything with fake cream. Farmed shrimp.

The Swiss have made a huge industry out of dried food with manufacturers like Knorr - its an extremely acquired taste because it is savory and seemingly delicious, for its high salt and MSG content and perfect food chemistry combinations, but absolutely revolting at the same time.

Lunch restaurants for average folks, with typical cuisine of the nation, are disappearing in Switzerland, Netherlands, Germany, Austria. Real German lunch restaurants are great.

I am watching Twin Peaks these days. Now, what could be better than real American diner food. (If its real, that is!)

I went to McDo yesterday for the first time this year. I had those potato fries. They were delicious and tasted real. Are they real?

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ďFrom each, according to his ability; to each, according to his needĒ 1875 K Marx

Favorite would be good quality grilled steak and a fresh garden salad (yea I know... cholesterol city) and least favorite would be anything with pasta and tomato sauce. Cold pasta salad in the summer is ok with a few cherry tomatoes though.

Thai Ė Is my favorite food in the world especially ĎPad Thaií. Every city I go and visit, I would go to Thai restaurants, I will go and order ĎPad Thaií/ ĎPhat Thaií without even looking at the menu. I would usually order Ďhigh to very highí on the spice level. I like it spicy!

Indian Ė I live on this everyday. No matter how detached I feel sometimes from my ethnicity, culture, morals and values that was raised with (I have mentioned in one of my threads that I am way more westernized culturally now than how I was before) foods is one thing I could not ever live without. Once you go for Indian foods you can never go back. Noted, when I say Indian, I meant mostly South Asian foods which is various types of curry, rice, bread, Samosa, Chicken Tikka (yummy), Kabab, Biriyani, etc as you may know Indian foods have a huge selection.

Chinese Ė I love Chinese foods a lot, all kinds. I need to mention American Chinese is way different than ĎSouth Asian Chinese/Indian Chinese foods. My guess is wherever Chinese go they kind of mix their recipe up with their foods and makes it a bit more local. Chinese foods in China (authentic) are not same as Chinese foods anywhere else. I also like authentic Taiwanese foods.

I am very Asian when it comes to foods. However, I do love different others foods like African, middle eastern, Greek, Italian (especially pizza and pasta), German, French (I haven't tried a whole lot, though I love their bread). Oh, I love South American foods like Spanish/Mexican foods and I love Cuban foods they are so tasty..yum yum..and I love a good American Cheese burger, steaks, grilled foods ( what am I leaving off..nothing.. cuz I love all kinds of foods). So, I would go and eat anything at least once. I am into exotic foods. I am yet to try snake (I would love to try the soup of it), crocodile, and other exotic foods at least once. I would never say Ďnoí to anything ( except of course with few exceptions...lol..). I also heard that in China, they prepare tiger penis as food and I would love to try that also. I won't try some special animal's foods that I call my pets (dogs and cats and etc.. see I am not that bad...I can't believe that I just wrote that..just to set the record straight.. . Oh. I forgot. I love seafood!!!!!

Well, I guess, I have started out wrong. What I don't like? Nothing.. I love eating everything... its very true...I am a food fanatic, I am not much of good cook ( and I mean it!!), but I love to eat different types of foods!!

There is not much I will not eat and enjoy, so I cant really pin down any dislikes. German (yum sauerkraut) Italian, Indian, Greek, Chinese all thumbs up. Including Texas Calf fries (deep fried bull testes).

Tonight we have lightly toasted Amoroso bread (actually baked in my neighborhood), rare roast beef thinly sliced, with Kelchner's horse-radish, Pennsylvanian naturally made by Amish virgins. And a slice of the very best cheddar on the market, Montgomery from Somerset, England. Lovingly served on Finnish glassware.

I'm also simultaneously watching Most Eligible Dallas on Bravo and thinking of you.

Spain- Tortilla de Patatas (Spanish Omlette) is awesome. I never quite liked Paella, but then I have a mental block in enjoying any rice dish that isn't Indian or Chinese. I can't even enjoy a good Risotto for that reason

German food that I have had was really good. Wurst sausages etc.

South Indian food is tasty as hell too. (Quite different to the usual Naan, meat curries and lentils served in Indian restaurants In the US and Europe- which is North Indian)

4. English (yes I said it!) Can't beat a home cooked roast dinner. Food does not always have to be highly seasoned, it's all about the yorkshire puds, crisp roast potatoes and the gravy. If the gravy isn't good then the whole meal is spoilt!

4. English (yes I said it!) Can't beat a home cooked roast dinner. Food does not always have to be highly seasoned, it's all about the yorkshire puds, crisp roast potatoes and the gravy. If the gravy isn't good then the whole meal is spoilt!

I like a variety of different cuisines. I typically cook homestyle American dishes and go out for Indian, Greek, Italian, etc. I could eat Chinese or Thai every day of the week and do stir-fry at home all the time. I love going to the local fondue restaurant. What I don't like has more to do with the ingredients than the way it is prepared. I stay away from organ meats, raw meat or strong tasting fish, like anchovies. I don't like the taste of coffee or beer. I don't like foods that are swimming in sauce, gravy or cheese to where you can't taste what you are eating. I don't think I have ever had a fruit or vegetable I didn't like.

Oh, one thing I'm really huge on is cured meat -- is there anything more satisfying than a proper salumi plate before a meal? Speck, mortadella, coppa, bresaola, lardo, etc.... moving on to charcuterie.

I get this from being raised on the Southern US version of ham -- where it's salt cured in a smoke house. My grandfather cured his own pigs, and did one per month for his own personal use. They were never sold to other people. So there was always ham in the house, served with every meal as an "option" to the main dish when guests were present, which was rather often. So to this day I like any salt-cured meat product, and fortunately I live within walking distance of all these divine Italian shops. But it's just a special treat as eating these items is not particularly healthy.

There are a few good Ethiopian restaurants in the Adams Morgan (aka Madam's Organ) section of Washington DC... the sponge like bread known as injera was interesting. Moroccan food is also worth trying but I doubt the place where I had it in Savannah comes remotely close to what may be found in Marrakech.

Among African cuisines, I tried Ethiopian food once. Was better than ok. Has anyone else tried food from other parts of Africa? What's it like?

I used to eat Ethiopian a lot -- started that way back in the 80's when I discovered a place in DC where Ethiopian diplomats ate. Then when I moved to NYC there was one in the lower part of Soho that suddenly became quietly hip.

When I moved to downtown Brooklyn in the mid-90's I lived down the street from a Senegalese restaurant, and I used to eat there frequently. Later my ex-partner was Nigerian and I remember insisting on being taken to a Nigerian restaurant in London, which involved this really long amount of travel as it was in some obscure neighborhood. I had this amazing soup as an appetizer which was one of the spiciest concoctions I've ever encountered, followed by some fish.

Can't think of any African restaurant in Philadelphia, but that's mostly because my current neighborhood, other than Italian, mostly has pockets of Vietnamese and Mexican, specifically from Puebla state.

I also used to live around the corner from a Jamaican restaurant that made the most phenomenal oxtail and beans -- I still get a plate whenever I'm back in Brooklyn.

I had great food at times when I went to the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, but you have to find a place locals go. If you're ever in San Juan make sure you go to this place called La Casita Blanca where they keep live poultry in cages outside, which they slaughter for your dish -- fresh! Great goat dishes as well -- love goat.

Yes, I forgot too they have very weird hours and are only open for lunch, and it took me several visits to figure out when to go.

For high end in San Juan locate where Chef Mario Pagan is working -- he used to run this legendary place called Chayote which I think is closed now, but he kind of was instrumental in the early Caribbean fusion/NuevaoLatino cooking, which you now find in so many places. Douglas Rodriguez does this well too -- I think he's credited with the term Nuevo Latino in the mid-90's, and I ate at his first restaurant Patria back then and was blown away by it. Hey Rev., have you been to his place in Miami? OLA?

Douglas Rodriguez does this well too -- I think he's credited with the term Nuevo Latino in the mid-90's, and I ate at his first restaurant Patria back then and was blown away by it. Hey Rev., have you been to his place in Miami? OLA?

Yes, been there twice --early dinner, cause it gets rather packed later on. Very good, pretty creative stuff. I may go back next week now that you reminded me and try their "pescado a lo macho." Their lobster empanadas are delish.

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"I have tried hard--but life is difficult, and I am a very useless person. I can hardly be said to have an independent existence. I was just a screw or a cog in the great machine I called life, and when I dropped out of it I found I was of no use anywhere else."

Uh, no -- I know where Camden Town is. This place wasn't a stall either, it was sit-down upscale for an African restaurant. My ex was no low-brow type and made a similar income to myself at that time. His family in Lagos was I'd say more upper middle class, very educated, etc.

Of course, discussing "African cuisine" is silly -- it's a massive area, better to break it down to West African, East, North, etc. But compared to other cooking it's largely unexplored to Western palates, even if for example West African cuisine was imported by slaves to all of the Americas and vice versa with indigenous American foods going back to West Africa... triangle trade and all of that.

I always wanted him to take me to Lagos but he didn't seem to find that a wise idea.

I always wanted him to take me to Lagos but he didn't seem to find that a wise idea.

Pity. I however believe that you've been elsewhere in Africa, no? At least Cape Town or Joburg?

As far as African food is concerned I have tried --and loved-- food from Ethiopia (we used to have a lovely place called Sheba in Miami, but they closed about a year ago or so), Algeria, Angola (love their groundnut stew), Morocco, and (of course) South Africa. To this day I still go every month or so to Meal In A Pie (a tiny South African grocery and restaurant in Fort Lauderdale) to buy me a few groceries. Nothing like cooking at home with a nice chutney.

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"I have tried hard--but life is difficult, and I am a very useless person. I can hardly be said to have an independent existence. I was just a screw or a cog in the great machine I called life, and when I dropped out of it I found I was of no use anywhere else."

Pity. I however believe that you've been elsewhere in Africa, no? At least Cape Town or Joburg?

Nope, never have been to Africa at all. Nor Asia (flights are too long!). Child you know I spent all of my time in the DR. And I would have only gone to somewhere like Lagos with a native chaperone -- my ex was upfront that all of my Prada would have made me an instant target exiting customs at the airport and I'd never make it downtown.

Nope, never have been to Africa at all. Nor Asia (flights are too long!). Child you know I spent all of my time in the DR. And I would have only gone to somewhere like Lagos with a native chaperone -- my ex was upfront that all of my Prada would have made me an instant target exiting customs at the airport and I'd never make it downtown.

If all goes well I will be in Ghana next year doing some school work for about two months. Pending on approval from the university and other matters. Then in august I will go back to SA to stay at the ex-spouse's family farm for about 3 or 4 weeks. I'd invite you to come along, but this is rural Limpopo, definitely not the most glamorous or lively of places.

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« Last Edit: August 31, 2011, 03:32:59 PM by Rev. Moon »

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"I have tried hard--but life is difficult, and I am a very useless person. I can hardly be said to have an independent existence. I was just a screw or a cog in the great machine I called life, and when I dropped out of it I found I was of no use anywhere else."

That looks rather decadent, Guillermina. And, of course, you did not eat the tomato or lettuce.

Was this from Whataburger or Wendy's?

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"I have tried hard--but life is difficult, and I am a very useless person. I can hardly be said to have an independent existence. I was just a screw or a cog in the great machine I called life, and when I dropped out of it I found I was of no use anywhere else."

If all goes well I will be in Ghana next year doing some school work for about two months. Pending on approval from the university and other matters. Then in august I will go back to SA to stay at the ex-spouse's family farm for about 3 or 4 weeks. I'd invite you to come along, but this is rural Limpopo, definitely not the most glamorous or lively of places.

Don't know why people don't think I can't handle travel adversity -- once in the DR I was with my hustler companion/travel guide/chaffeur and the rental car had a tire blow out, and the spare was also fucked -- so he took me up to some family's house and had me sit on their porch for a couple hours in a downpour while he hitchhiked to some nearby town to sort out the tire. They didn't speak any English, and my Spanish is non-existent except for things like puta and pinga but I manage to get buy giving their children money to go buy candy. By the end of it all I was quite popular on that porch.

Last year I spent a few months in Dallas and Austen. Work related. Oh, and they have one or two in dreadful Pensaculo, FL --another location where I was regularly shipped by my employer.

Their burgers are just ok, rather pedestrian in my opinion. They hit the spot for a quick lunch. Nothing like In-N-Out (which, if I'm not mistaken, will be opening a couple of locations in yer neck o'dawoods) or Five Guys.

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"I have tried hard--but life is difficult, and I am a very useless person. I can hardly be said to have an independent existence. I was just a screw or a cog in the great machine I called life, and when I dropped out of it I found I was of no use anywhere else."

Dont they have fresh maters down there in TX this time of year? Its almost 4:00PM here and no lunch for me yet but perhaps something will find its way into my kitchen before sunset. I sorta have a craving for a homemade Maryland style crabcake and if I can get to the fish market before 5:00 it just may happen. (broilled of course since I gots to watch what I eat now-a-days)